Documents: Executive Director of Weld County Public Health and Environment warned commissioners not to reopen
A photo of the outside of the Weld County Administration Building on April 29, 2020. Photo by Kelly Ragan.
By Kelly Ragan
The Weld County Commissioners gave businesses the green light to reopen this week despite serious concerns expressed by Dr. Mark Wallace, executive director of the Weld County Department of Health and Environment.
A day before commissioners unveiled a “safer-at-work” initiative, Wallace warned against it, according to internal emails obtained by the Optimist via a Colorado Open Records Act request.
“The relative ineffectiveness of actions and interventions to control transmission in Weld County as evidenced by our ongoing high case rate raise serious concerns and considerations for staging reopening,” Wallace wrote. “Weld County has not met the threshold for reopening of a downward trajectory of cases. Any relaxation of restrictions should be cautiously staged given the risk of even wider spread of the disease.”
Wallace wrote the county still has widespread community transition with outbreaks in nursing homes and several large employers.
As of Wednesday, Weld had 1,667 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 and had seen a total of 90 deaths due to the virus, according to county data.
Statewide, there were 14,316 confirmed positive cases and 736 deaths, according to state data.
Weld had the third-most deaths in the state behind Denver and Arapahoe counties, respectively. Yet, according to state data, Weld had more cases per 100,000 people than Denver or Arapahoe counties.
Commissioners announced the “safer-at-work” initiative last week on the heels of Governor Jared Polis’ “safer-at-home” executive order.
Polis’ “safer-at-home” order went into effect just after his “stay-at-home” order expired. As it stands, “safer-at-home” is set to expire May 27, but that could change at any time. The order outlines what businesses can begin opening and when.
According to Polis’ order, local governments are at liberty to relax guidelines faster than the state, but they need to be able to document 14 straight days of decline of COVID-19 cases in the county to do so.
Weld hadn’t seen a consecutive decline when commissioners made the call, and Dr. Wallace made that clear in his emails to the commissioners.
“Weld County and the front range communities have failed to cross the foundational threshold of flat or declining cases for 14 days called for in federal, state, and local guidance,” Wallace wrote. “I have serious heartburn looking at our data in Weld County.”
What does that threshold look like?
The Optimist filed a Colorado Open Records Act request with Weld County for emails exchanged between commissioners and the health department, as well as commissioners and Dr. Wallace between April 12 and April 24. The Optimist sorted through more than 80 emails for this story.
In one email, Wallace laid out his own evaluation and guidelines that inform his recommendation of a cautious reopening plan.
Federal guidance, according to Wallace, says three criteria should be met before phased reopening:
Symptoms
Downward trajectory of influenza-like illness reported within a 14-day period, AND
Downward trajectory of COVID-like syndromic cases reported within a 14-day period.
Cases
Downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period OR
Downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period.
Hospitals
Able to treat all patients without crisis care, AND
Robust testing program for at-risk healthcare workers.
Colorado’s local public health agencies also came together to establish best practices for relaxing stay-at-home orders, Wallace wrote. Those five main indicators include:
A sustained decrease in cases for at least 14 days.
Hospitals are able to safely treat patients without resorting to crisis standards of care.
Testing can be performed for all people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection.
Active monitoring can be accomplished for all COVID-19 cases and their contacts.
Clear protocol in place that requires social distancing and assists with case identification.
Of the 23 total conditions for reopening, Weld met only four definitively, according to Wallace’s email.
Other emails obtained via Colorado Open Records Act requests reveal confusion within the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment. Some employees speculated Wallace was “blindsided” by the county’s announcement. Others said they heard Wallace was “consulted and edited the guidance” but they didn’t think the health department was part of the decision-making process.
It “seems like a bomb just got dropped on all of us,” one employee wrote.
Another wrote, “It would have been nice if they would’ve let us know so that we could’ve prepared more. We’re getting calls and it seems that businesses know more than we do.”
The Optimist reached out to commissioners and the Weld County Joint Information Center repeatedly for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Weld isn’t the only county that’s clashed with the governor’s orders.
According to a report in The Denver Post, Republican lawmakers moved to pursuade Douglas County commissioners to leave Tri-County Health last month when it first announced stay-at-home orders covering Douglas, Arapahoe and Adams counties.
While Arapahoe and Adams counties are now extending stay-at-home restrictions, Douglas County is shifting to safer-at-home, as its case numbers have leveled off in recent weeks, according to a report in the Colorado Sun.
Weld as a hotspot
Weld is a COVID-19 hotspot.
It’s seen outbreaks in nursing homes, such as Centennial Healthcare Center and Fairacres Manor, and several large employers, such as JBS, a meat packing plant in Greeley, and Leprino Foods Co. in Fort Morgan.
In an unprecedented move, JBS shut down for several weeks as pressure mounted from the Weld County Department of Health and Environment and the state health department. But the plant reopened April 24.
Photo of the outside of JBS on April 22, 2020. Photo by Kelly Ragan.
According to a report by The Denver Post, at least five employees died of the virus as of April 27.
Over the weekend, the Colorado National Guard and Colorado State Patrol manned testing sites at Island Grove Regional Park, as the state moved to conduct targeted testing in Greeley.
The tests were available to any Weld resident with COVID-19 symptoms – unlike other local sites that require a doctor’s referral.
State officials were aiming to run 300 samples per day from the event, according to a report in The Greeley Tribune.
But Greeley’s Emergency Manager, Dan Frazen, said at Tuesday’s city council meeting initial results showed the state didn’t meet those goals.
“The initial results show testing was much less than anticipated,” Frazen said. “…As we test more people, we will see our numbers increase.”
When asked if there would be another round of target testing, Frazen said he didn’t know.
What will “safer-at-work” ultimately accomplish?
The “safer-at-work” plan offers guidelines – many of which match up with the state – but the guidelines don’t propose a staggered opening. Instead, the plan offers safety guidelines for businesses choosing to reopen despite state orders to stay closed. You can read more about the guidelines here.
Weld County Commissioner Mike Freeman – who represents northern Weld, including Windsor, Severance and north Greeley – said in an interview April 24 commissioners made the move partly because it seemed the governor was picking winners and losers.
“It’s hard to explain to a mom-and-pop business why pot shops can be open and they can’t,” he said.
Though businesses were able to put things on pause for 40 days, many folks are running out of money, he said, noting many are at the ends of their ropes.
“Weld County is not opening any businesses, just like we didn’t close any businesses,” Freeman said in an interview with the Optimist. “Constituents are going to open businesses anyway. We felt it was in the best interest of Weld to issue guidelines to help keep consumers, employees and business owners safe.”
Ultimately, it seems to come down to what local governments are willing to enforce. By the looks of it, that isn’t much.
Greeley’s The Bar.Ber.Shop, 1544 10th Ave., garnered national attention this week as it opened its doors and welcomed customers in before state orders on barbershops lifted.
Jose Oregal, the owner, told The Greeley Tribune he opted to “reopen his shop Monday, following the lead of Weld County commissioners” and the “safer-at-work” guidelines.
The Tribune reported Oregal received a call from the governor’s office telling him to wait until Friday to reopen but he dismissed the request.
“Oregel said county commissioners on Sunday encouraged him to proceed with his plan to reopen Monday and offered any needed assistance,” according to The Tribune.
Unrelated to Oregel’s decision to open early, the Bar.Ber.Shop received a cease and desist letter from the Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure for operating with a license that expired Nov. 30, 2019, according to The Tribune.
Meanwhile, the city of Greeley announced Friday it would follow the governor’s orders.
“Based on the medical and scientific data, and the high number of cases in Weld County, the City of Greeley strongly supports following the ‘Safer at Home’ philosophy,” said Greeley Mayor John Gates in a news release. “This approach protects lives, flattens the curve and is a step in the right direction for getting our community back to a fully operational economy.”
In an interview with the Optimist, city councilmember Tommy Butler, who represents northeast Greeley, said county commissioners did not consult with city council before announcing their decision.
“This is not the time for political games,” Butler said. “What the county put out was antagonistic. We need to make sure things are as safe as we can before we can reopen.”